Franklin Graham
This is a copy of the letter I sent to Franklin Graham.
Franklin,
As I write this my heart is heavy, and I feel pain. I was raised in an Evangelical home, attended Christian School and had a father that encouraged me daily to read and discuss the bible. Your father was at one time known to us, but that did change.
You see, my father had an incredibly strong, yet simple faith that he taught to his children. Jesus. His faith was following Jesus, the character and template we have of the greatest hero the universe has ever known. You can find this template in the Gospels, I find it is helpful to break it down to get a view of who he truly was. My father taught his girls to base every action, opinion and ideal we embraced on the character of Jesus. A pastor once told me that if I truly wanted to understand the nature of God, I should look to Jesus. Jesus was and is, as yo hopefully know, called ‘The Word made Flesh’, God’s direct message, his template for us, the bridge back to him. For without Jesus, his death and subsequent resurrection, we would forever be separated from God. Jesus himself asserted that the words he spoke were not his own, but the words his father told hum to speak.
You are probably thinking, blah, blah, blah, I know all of this already. But Franklin, you have forgotten much. You have forgotten how to measure your stances next to the nature of Christ. I find it helpful to imagine myself explaining my actions to him face to face, and if I cannot meet is eyes, and remember-we can keep no secret nor hold no lie up to him, he sees into your heart. If I cannot meet his eyes, I know my stance is wrong.
I am compelled to write you, to beseech you to look closer at your fruits, because I fear for you. Paul said in Corinthians that we should hold our fellow Christians accountable for their sins, and Jesus said in Matthew that many would come to him on Judgement Day and say ‘Lord, Lord have we not done great things in your name? Have we not cast out demons?’ and he would reply to them ‘I never knew you’. I ask you to remember the letters to the churches that Jesus dictated in Revelations. And after you review Revelations, I ask you to pray.
I recall a speech you made, before you welcomed Jerry, in a meeting to introduce Donald Trump as the ‘Evangelical’ candidate. You made several errors, but I am sure you are well aware of them as the speech twisted scripture to suit your needs, but you made ne very glaringly obvious error that I am shocked that anyone who attempts to wear the mantle of ‘Spiritual Leader’ or ‘Gospel Great’ missed. You forgot that when we accept Jesus Christ as our saviour , we are ‘born again’, this means we leave our life of sin and live as closely to the template Christ let for us as possible. To suggest that we simply carry on, living our lives serving sin, is ludicrous. And touting Donald Trump as Jesus Christ Candidate is equally ludicrous. Donald Trump represents everything that is anti in spirit to Christ.
When one meets Christ, it is lifechanging. We do not go back to living the same way we did when we were blind. I ask you to remember Paul. Now Paul was a Pharisee, remember the Pharisees-the men Jesus called ‘a den of vipers’? Paul hated Christ and he actively participated in the murder of any followers of Jesus, that is until he met Jesus. When Paul met Jesus, he was completely Transformed, he truly became a new being, he did not go back to his old lifestyle. That is what Jesus does when truly touches people, I can tell you from experience, it is a complete and irreversible life changer.
How can a man, supposedly raised in this faith, have forgotten so much? How can a man raised in this faith forget how to measure his actions against the character of Christ? How can a man so easily bought, go out and deceive so many that count on him for guidance. Mammon. The God of money. Jesus said that you cannot love God and Mine, you cannot serve two masters. You have been enticed by money, prestige and power. You have been enticed by Mammon. You know it, and Jesus knows it.
When men who wield great influence in the religious platforms in this world, show hypocrisy, blasphemy Christ and give way to flattery, greed, power, money and vanity, the people will see this a representative of Christ, for you have a responsibility to uphold his teachings and character. This is the cause of the moral decay you so despise. You can do better; in fact I challenge you to. But don’t do this because it is a challenge, do it because you owe Jesus that much.
You may brand me a naive, or possibly an arrogant girl, I do not mind, because Jesus sees into my heart and he is my King. And Franklin, he sees into yours as well. Let my words be a warning, let them rest heavy on your heart, let them bring you to ask Jesus to show you where you fell off the path, and how to restore what you have destroyed. Franklin, use your influence to bring people back to Jesus, not away from him.
I can imagine nothing so horrible as to die and face Jesus with all of this against me.
Sincerely, and in prayer,
Carey Metzlaff